Smartphone data too easily up for grabs

IN A RECENT EXPERT REVIEW MEETING on smartphone applications, the Internet Society of China found that 18 of their sampled apps are suspected of overly collecting key personal information such as SMS, address book, and personal audio records. 21st Century Business Herald comments:

When internet enterprises emerged in China, the laws and regulations on personal information protection were not complete yet, so there were still loopholes for them to make use of. However, the Cybersecurity Law came into effect in June 2017, and the personal information regulation in 2018, yet the products of internet companies continue neglecting people's need for privacy and continue acquiring personal information without approval.

Maybe a statement by Robin Li, founder of searching giant baidu.com, can explain the mentality of the executives of internet giants. In 2018 he openly said: "The Chinese people are not so sensitive to privacy. They tend, on many occasions, to exchange privacy for convenience."